​​Family Matters: Education and Indoctrination in an Authoritarian Regime

​Under what conditions does propaganda work as intended? Extant research on the role of propaganda in cultivating people’s pro-regime ideologies has yielded mixed evidence. This suggests that the key question is no longer whether propaganda indoctrinates but instead when and how it can do so. Building upon research from information processing and intergenerational transmission, this article argues that receptivity of students to propaganda embedded in school textbooks is conditional on their familial connections with the government. Results from a natural experiment exploiting China’s most recent high school curriculum reform show that the new Politics textbooks indoctrinated only those whose parents had worked for the government. Findings suggest that indoctrination occurs only among people whose families are connected to state patronage. They also highlight the role of people’s early socialization in families in affecting their receptivity to subsequent propaganda.

​​Work in Progress

No Taxation with Information on Responsiveness: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in China.​Do Economic Conditions Shape Political Support in Authoritarian Regimes? Evidence from China.